Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi did not hide his disappointment after the club’s 3-0 drubbing by Brentford on the opening day of the Premier League, describing his squad as "still not a team" despite a summer that has seen more than £300m poured into new signings. The Italian coach admitted that the side lacked the fighting spirit required to compete and that the players were still adjusting after a disrupted pre‑season that followed the World Cup.
His comments were echoed by former England international Jamie Redknapp, who, speaking on Sky Sports, dismissed the Tottenham XI as a "team of strangers" who had yet to develop any real chemistry on the pitch. The Spurs’ transfer activity this window has been massive, with deals for Manchester City forwards Savinho and Omar Marmoush reportedly close to completion, pushing the total spend well beyond the three‑hundred‑million‑pound mark. Yet, even with five of the six newcomers who arrived over the summer featuring against Brentford, the team looked disjointed and was punished for its lack of cohesion.
The defeat was a stark reminder of the club’s recent history of flirting with relegation, having finished 17th in each of the last two campaigns and only surviving the drop on the final day of the previous season. At the post‑match press conference De Zerbi was candid: "We are not a team yet, for many reasons.
Until we become a unit, we cannot set realistic targets or know what we are capable of achieving." He went on to explain that the squad’s physical readiness was compromised because many players returned late from the World Cup, and the pre‑season tour in Australia did not allow the coaching staff to implement their training programme fully. "These are not excuses," he insisted, "they are the growing pains of a new project. We have to endure them and move forward." De Zerbi expressed confidence in his players, the club and himself, recalling the final friendly against Hoffenheim as a benchmark for where the team stood: "We were not at the right point, we were late for the start of the Premier League, but it was a step. We must improve quickly." He criticised the lack of intensity in the Brentford game, noting that Spurs lost a majority of duels, failed to win second balls, and made tactical errors when trying to increase pressure.
"We did not win a single second ball, a single duel, a single tackle – it was painful to watch," he said. The manager stressed that building a genuine team cannot be achieved through the transfer market alone. "You can sign players on paper, but you become a team only when those individuals find a connection, develop a shared spirit and create a collective soul.
That is a process, not an instant transformation." Redknapp agreed, adding that the lack of understanding between new centre‑backs Jan‑Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi was evident, as was the overall deficiency in winning duels. He questioned the creative spark of Conor Gallagher in the number ten role and wondered where the team’s imagination would come from. Looking ahead, Tottenham will try to bounce back in the Carabao Cup, hosting Championship side Charlton Athletic on Wednesday, before facing Newcastle United in their next Premier League fixture on Saturday.
De Zerbi reiterated his belief that the squad is better than the performance suggested and that the defeat could serve as a catalyst for growth: "Maybe we woke up stronger than we thought. We need time, but we are already much better than we showed today." The match itself saw Brentford take a soft second goal after a sequence that began with Lucas Bergvall’s pass to Mathias Jensen, whose shot was saved before Vitaly Janelt pounced on the rebound.
Bergvall, who was substituted at halftime for Rodrigo Bentancur, struggled against the physicality of the Bees. De Zerbi defended his decision, explaining that the 20‑year‑old was expected to improve with experience and that Bentancur, despite his pedigree, was not fully fit to start after a late return from pre‑season. Analyzing the defensive lineup, De Zerbi highlighted the turnover of personnel: last season’s back four of Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie had been replaced by Archie Gray, JP van Hecke, Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson. In midfield, the duo of Bentancur and Joao Palhinha had given way to Bergvall and the newly signed Tonali.
He admitted that the lack of continuity contributed to the disjointed display but stressed that such changes are part of the club’s long‑term project. A notable moment from the game was the appointment of 20‑year‑old Archie Gray as Spurs’ youngest ever captain in a competitive match, stepping in for the absent new skipper Micky van de Ven. Gray, who was deployed at right‑back due to Pedro Porro’s delayed return from Spain’s World Cup triumph, lamented the team’s lack of fight: "We lost too many duels. They simply out‑worked us across the park.
We need to review the footage and improve that aspect. For the fans, we let them down in the first game – there are no words for that." In summary, De Zerbi’s message was clear: Tottenham are in the early stages of a rebuilding process that demands patience, perseverance and a collective identity. The manager believes that once the squad discovers its soul and refines its style of play, it will become a formidable opponent. Until then, the club must endure short‑term setbacks, learn from them, and continue to develop the chemistry that will ultimately turn the massive investment into on‑field success.